


The Great Cabin Conspiracy of '73

by DrJekyl



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Oh look, There Is Only One Bed, inquiring minds want to know, matriarchs/happier times otp, will they share it?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-20
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2019-04-05 02:21:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14034057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrJekyl/pseuds/DrJekyl
Summary: Two matriarchs somehow get stuck in a chilly cabin with no security escort and no extranet access.





	The Great Cabin Conspiracy of '73

**Author's Note:**

  * For [boshtet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/boshtet/gifts).



Aethyta cursed with feeling as the fire, for the third time, died almost as quickly as she’d gotten it started, leaving her with little more than an increasingly sad pile of lightly charred kindling and a lingering, smokey aroma of failure. There _had_ to be some sort of trick to it, she swore, some combination of stacked twigs, and pulled levers and turned knobs on the fireplace that would feed enough oxygen to the fire to let it catch and draw _somehow_ , but she was damned if she could work out what the sequence was. And there was no manual - not that she could find, anyway- and the building had zero extranet access.

 _That_ wasn’t suspicious at all, of course. Oh, of course she’d smelled a setup, from the moment she’d gotten the ‘invitation’, but what puzzled her was the motivation. Someone had put a lot of time and money into getting her to this backwater planet and this backwoods resort and this freezing-ass ‘rustic’ cabin with a couch and a bed and not a hell of a lot else in the way of furniture. Either someone was trying to get her killed, or, given the ‘invitation’ and free tickets had supposedly come to her via the kids, someone was trying to get her laid. The first was just dumb. It’d be far easier to contract one of the ‘we’re totally not assassins’ guilds to just bump her off on Thessia then to drag her all the way out here, and the only reason to go to the trouble was because someone wanted to get up close and personal, in which case they were guaranteed an ass-kicking. The second, well, the day she couldn’t get herself laid when she wanted to was the day she swore off life and joined a goddess-damned monastery. Hauling her out here was, if anything, going to get in the way of making the most out of her sex life.

Anyway. Suspicion aside, the lack of extranet access was most definitely really, really damn inconvenient. She could get a signal, probably, if she went outside and hiked back up out of the valley, but she didn’t particularly want to freeze her tits off along with her crests, and being inside and out of the wind was doing a fine enough job of that already. It was at times like this that she honestly really missed space. Space stations. Climate control. A distinct lack of stupidly big fireplaces and great damn heavy lumps of splinter-inducing dried vegetation to burn within them.

Attempt number four at making fire was well on its way towards failure when the cabin door swung open with a fresh blast of cold and a flurry of snow. Mindful of her suspicions, Aethyta tensed, ready to call up a biotic barrier or attack, but relaxed again almost immediately as Benezia T’Soni, of all people, stumbled through the door, slamming it shut behind her with real feeling.

Well, laid it was. By the _goddess_ but her kids were dumbasses sometimes. Sweethearts and well-intentioned, but utter dumbasses. Blind too. But then again, they were _her_ kids.

Benezia, when she turned back around, looked slightly surprised to see Aethyta standing there, but only slightly. She surveyed Aethyta solemnly for a second or two, then the rest of the cabin with a raised and rather judgemental eyebrow. Then she shrugged, almost to herself, dumped her bag on the floor and began unwinding the long scarf from around her neck and mouth.

“You know, I _thought_ this was a setup,” she said conversationally, unwinding another twist. “It all seemed far too much effort and secrecy for so simple a thing.”

“That was exactly what I thought,” Aethyta said, coming over to take the scarf as it finally came free. ”Figured someone was either trying to kill me, or get me laid.”

The scarf was obscenely soft - some sort of animal fibre - and carried a lot of Benezia’s body warmth with it. Aethyta wrapped it around her hands idly, part vague attempt to occupy them in some way that wasn’t immediately reaching out to grab Benezia, part vague awareness that her fingers would need to stop being icicles if said grabbing was going to take place later.

“Well, assassination did cross my mind,” off came her gloves revealing, to Aethyta’s immediate disappointment, another pair underneath, “but I’d thought perhaps another eccentric with a business proposal. I have to admit that the idea of someone arranging a week-long tryst on my behalf had not, in fact, occurred to me until just now. Not that I’m complaining.”

Benezia stuffed the gloves into the pockets of her heavy outer jacket, then shrugged that off. She hung it on a handy peg by the door, somehow managing to make the move seem like the height of elegance, revealing slacks and a thick sweater beneath, one that looked like it was the same material as the scarf. Tailored for her, too, like most of her stuff, tight enough across the chest and cut in enough at the sides to to highlight her assets without being restricting. Aethyta gave in to the inevitable and reached out, pulling Benezia into her arms.

“Well, _I_ am. Not about the company,” she began, stealing a quick kiss that graduated into a longer one and from there into copping a quick feel - a very quick feel as Benezia squeaked in protest and pulled away almost immediately.

“ _Goddess_ , your hands are _cold_! And look at you, you’re practically purple! Why don’t you go sit by the fire while I- _ah_.”

Aethyta followed her gaze to the fireplace where, with exquisite timing, the last little flicker of flame died out in a pitiful little puff of smoke. Benezia extracted herself the rest of the way from Aethyta’s embrace and ambled over to kneel before it, poking the sad pile of lightly charred kindling with a handy stick.

“Yeeeaah,” Aethyta said, coming up behind her. “So, it turns out that I’m only good at setting panties on fire.”

“Ah, but your mastery there is unsurpassed,” Benezia replied without missing a beat, throwing a wink over her shoulder. “Let me see if I can’t get this started and get us both warmed up. Have you had much of a look around yet?”

“Didn’t seem like much to see, but no,” Aethyta admitted. “Might go rustle up some blankets, and just how dire the situation is, food-wise.”

“Sounds like an excellent plan,” Benezia said, focusing her attention back to the fire with an air of competency, and Aethyta left her to it.

Her initial impression that there wasn’t much to the place was quickly borne out. With the main cabin area containing the dining, eating and sleeping areas, the only necessities left to discover were the head and the kitchen. The head turned out to be down a short hallway and a _very_ swanky bathroom, all hardwood and bronze and actual porcelain, complete with a spa and steam room. Off the same hallway was a small laundry area, which in turn led to a boot room and then to a deck that looked like it would offer a spectacular view of the mountainside - if they would work out how to turn on the thermal shielding build into the thing’s roof.

She ducked back out into the main room in search of the kitchen to find Benezia sitting cross legged before the fireplace. She looked almost meditative, with her eyes closed and one hand resting lightly on her thigh. The other, though, was held close to her stomach, two fingers directing a laser-thin lance of biotic energy into one of the larger bits of wood. That seemed like a really good way to catch a faceful of splinters, and Aethyta hesitated on the verge of remarking to that effect, but Benezia practically taught biotics for a living, and Aethyta had to admit she’d never seen a lance that precise, let alone sustained for more than a second or two across that distance.

She left her to it, and resumed her search for the kitchen instead, finding it tucked away behind a sliding wall in the main room.  It was a more of a galley-style kitchenette thing, nice and modern and clean but with barely enough room for one person to work, let alone two, unless one of them as on the other side of the breakfast bar. The fridge and pantry, however, were well-stocked with a selection of fresh ingredients and pre-prepared meals, and another sliding door revealed a large selection of serious quality booze.

What was it Benezia has called it? A tryst? Yeah, this was definitely someone’s favourite ‘trysting’ spot. Someone - and it wasn’t Benezia, her surprise had been completely genuine - had gone to a lot of trouble to get her and Aethyta to spend more than a week with nothing to do but fuck. And the answer to that question probably lay with the envelope in the booze cabinet, stuck to the temperature stabiliser bucket that containing a pair of fluted glasses and what, on closer examination, proved to be a bottle of sparkling honey wine, the exclusive shit from that monastery wherever.

 _Nice_.

She turned back around from her examination of the bottle at a sudden _whoomph_ behind her to see Benezia rising from her spot in front of the now-roaring fire. Also nice. Aethyta grabbed the bucket, glasses and note, made a quick detour by the bed to grab the heavy blanket folded at its foot, and got herself settled nicely on the couch in front of the fire while Benezia faffed about with the fireplace itself a bit more, adjusting levers with a critical eye and piling on mood wood. Soon enough, though, Nez was settling onto the couch beside her, a welcome bit of additional warmth beneath the blanket. Aethyta handed her a full glass, and then produced the note.

“Wanna take bets?” Aethyta said.

“Oh, I don’t think there’s enough scope for doubt on my end to make for a fair bet. Most of my friends have been complaining about us making moon eyes at each other for at least three years. Just last month Rosi told me to, and I quote, ‘bed her and get her out of your system’ .”

“Yeah? And how d’you think that’d pan out?”

“I’m pretty sure we only went from merely annoying to being utterly insufferable only _after_ we started fucking so…” Nezzy shrugged, lips quirking up in a wicked smile.

Aethta laughed, feeling warmer by the second, and not just because of the fire and blanket. There was always just _something_ about the way Benezia casually dropped a word ‘fucking’ that made it sound like it was actually seriously obscene.

“Well, I’m pretty sure it was one of the kids on my side, if not all of ‘em. Probaby Mel. Though how she woulda linked up with your crowd, I’ve got no idea. _But apparently_ you’re all I talk about. ‘Wow, she’s so smart. Goddess she’s so pretty. _Damn_ that _rack_ ,’” she added, taking the opportunity offered by proximity and an invitingly raised arm to burrow closer into Benezia’s side and said rack. “I’ve probably gone on a bit about how much I like your tits, to be honest. Just a bit.”

“Well, I’m flattered,” Benezia laughed. “But shall we see exactly who we’ve annoyed into conspiring against us?”

Aethyta unsealed the envelope, extracting the letter for both of them to read.

_Benezia & Aethyta,_

_It’s obvious to anyone with eyes that you’d both jump each other in a heartbeat if circumstances permitted. Since you are both seemingly bound and determined to ignore our repeated suggestions to get a room and create them, we, your friends and family, have felt compelled to take matters into our own hands by giving you both room and circumstance._

_The cabin is yours for the next twelve days. The kitchen is well-stocked, and we have loaded the vidscreen with a selection of movies and erotica that should be to both of your tastes. There is firewood on the deck, and the thermal shielding can be turned on via the master switchboard at the front of the house. In the event of an emergency, there is a burst transmitter in the kitchen cutlery drawer._

_Short of an emergency, there should be no other reason to leave and Gaiana swears to the Goddess on high that if she sees your name pop up on the extranet before she comes to collect you, Benezia T’Soni, you will know the full, unrestrained extent of her wrath. And Aethyta, Melania has given assurance that she will part out your Growler if you try to hike your way out._

_With love and exhausted patience_ ,

The list of signatories took up half the page, and it took them both a good while to finally stop laughing.

“Well, I suppose we could try to tone things down a little,” Nezzy managed around lingering giggles. “Be a bit more restrained.”

“Nah. I say we double-down. Be totally _nauseating_. _Really_ give them something to complain about.”

“Oh, but that would be _cruel_. After they’ve gone to so much trouble too. When you think about it, it’s almost sweet.”

“ _Almost_ ,” Aethyta corrected, with feeling. Another thing she missed about space - people knew how to mind their own damn business. On Thessia - in most of the Republics - people acted like they had a vested interest in everything you did, and most especially who you were or weren’t getting it on with. “Nosy varren, the lot of them. But I suppose it’s not everyday someone gives you an all-expenses paid vacation...”

“Indeed. Besides, I’m not sure what else we could do. Obnoxious pet names? Shall I start calling you,” she started laughing again, hard enough that she barely got the next word out, “schnookums? My cuddly wubbly wuver?”

“Uggh, gross. Babe, even I have my limits.”

“Well then... if it’s vengeance you seek and pet names are out, I can think of something that would set tongues wagging and utterly scandalise half the people on that list.”

“Well, I wouldn’t call it vengeance but, if it’d make them think twice about meddling again, I’m all ears.”

“Escalation then,” Benezia said. "You could move in with me.”

Oh _goddess_ , wouldn’t that just put the wind up a few skirts?

“I can see the look on their faces now,” Aethyta laughed. ”’One week in a the wilderness and now they’re moving in together! What _have_ we done?’ The scandal!”

“Well, we have been seeing each other for three years. And as much as all the sneaking about has been fun, it would be nice to, well, not have to plan out every little move well in advance to just see you. Take you out to dinner, and not to a hotel room after? To have you for the night, and not part ways in the morning?”

That, as Nezzy was often wont to do, brought Aethyta up hard and short.

“Wait, you’re _serious_?”

“It’s not like I’m suggesting we buy property together,” Benezia shrugged as if to say Aethyta’s reaction to the idea didn’t really matter, when her expression clearly said it absolutely did. “If it doesn’t work out, we can simply go our separate ways again, nothing lost. Though, come to think of it, we are getting a bit pressed for space, and city council has been making noises about giving me commandos for ‘protection’.”

“You _are_ serious. Huh.” That was a pretty big step for anyone, let alone Benezia, who, everywhere but her professional life, seemed to have avoided contracting the matron-stage nesting urge. “Been thinking about this for a while?”

“A little. You don’t have to answer now,” Benezia said, again that careful caring/not caring dichotomy. “Just think about it.”

A ‘hell yes’ was on the tip of her tongue. Because, really, who wouldn’t want the chance to wake up next to that body every day? But… what had Nez told her whatshername had said? That Benezia should ‘bed her and get her out of her system?’ There was a note of truth to that. And not just in Benezia’s established resistance reluctance to get tied down with bondmates and babies and buying apartments, but a large part of the appeal for her had to be the novelty of it all. Different worlds and lives and social circles, and all that.

Practically speaking, they’d only really met up to chat, then talk and fuck, and then fuck and talk before now. Could be that twelve days of being stuck together, with no other company, could be enough to drain the novelty from it and flush the urge out of Benezia’s system. Hell, it could even go the other way. It was, in Aethyta’s considered opinion, absolutely impossible to get tired of her body, but _nobody_ could be as nice and neat and put together as Benezia _all_ the time. She had to have some sort of really, really annoying personal habit at the very least. The universe practically demanded it. For balance. A week might be enough to draw it out, whatever it was, and drive Aethyta mad.

“I’ll think about it,” she said.

“Good. Now, to more pressing concerns…” Benezia put her empty glass down on the table, placing her newly-freed hand on Aethyta’s thigh. “Have you ever made love in front of an open fire?”

“Fire, yes,” Aethyta allowed, squirming despite herself as Nezzy’s hand - warm and clever - slid up her thigh. “Fire _place_ , no. But, honestly, looks like it’d be a lot less fun than it sounds, ‘specially when there’s a nice big, soft bed, just over there.”

“My, aren’t we fussy?” Nezzy purred.

“‘We’,” Aethyta replied archly, exercising an extreme amount of self control to not squirm again when Benezia’s hand wormed its way in the gap between her clothes, “are on vacation. And vacation means ‘comfort’ in my books.”

“Well, I suppose the bed _does_ look more comfortable than the floor.” Benezia allowed, withdrawing her hand, only to lean over and kiss Aethyta’s cheek, that wicked gleam back in her eye. “Race you.”

“What are you, two hundred?” Aethyta laughed again, but rose at the same time Benezia did. “I want to turn on that thermal shielding so we don’t die of cold first.”

“Well, do hurry up about it.” Oh goddess, her sweater was coming off. And then buttons on her blouse, already straining under the tension, popped open at the lightest touch one. by. one. “I’ve tended the fire _I_ started. It’s high time you tended to yours.”


End file.
